One Piece Fan Fiction ❯ Useless ❯ Chapter 1

Useless

 

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or its characters. I also don't own the rhythm to the song used, but I do own these lyrics that took me a while to come up with.

 

It was a fine day in the grand line. The Straw Hats were enjoying their new ship, the Thousand Sunny. It had many big rooms and provided a lot of comfort. It even had its own aquarium.

 

Still, Luffy could not help but think of what had happened to their old ship, Going Merry. Just recently, that wonderful ship had passed away and they had replaced it with a new, better ship. Luffy couldn't help but wonder if Merry really wanted this or not and what Merry would say if she saw the Thousand Sunny.

 

Sadly, his train of thought, which rarely ever came up, came to an end when the ship started to control itself.

 

“LUFFY!” Nami shouted, “THE SHIP'S HEADED TOWARDS A BLACK FOG!”

 

The crew gasped and realized that the navigator was right. Thousand Sunny was headed towards a huge black cloud.

 

Usopp, Chopper, Zoro and Sanji combined forces to turn the rudder around, but sadly, the ship was moving as if it had a mind of its own. Soon, it had made its way completely into the cloud of smoke.

 

When the crew regained focus, they noticed something odd. They were not in the grand line. They were in a sea graveyard, and it seemed to be inhabited by dead ships.

 

“What is this place?” Zoro asked wearily as Robin explained, “We're in a graveyard for pirate ships.”

 

Usopp noticed that any marine ships in this graveyard had all been destroyed. Apparently, pirate ships ran this territory, so he couldn't help but cower in fear.

 

Chopper and Usopp just looked around trembling at the thought of all these ships just navigating by themselves. To make matters worse, they were all talking!

 

Yes, the pirates ships were moving the lips on their symbols and having conversations with the other ships. Among them was an old friend, one that had recently burned up into the sea.

 

“OI, MERRY!” Luffy shouted.

 

Everyone turned to see what their captain was shouting about, and they waved and did the same. The ram's head recognized these voices and floated up to them.

 

She looked down at them and asked, “What brings you to the pirate graveyard?”

 

“I don't know,” Nami replied, “The Thousand Sunny brought us here.”

 

Strangely enough, the Thousand Sunny was the only ship there that wasn't moving or talking. Usopp and Chopper were not as scared as before, though, because they had heard Merry speak before, but they had never seen the ship move its head before, so naturally, they were a bit freaked out.

 

“It makes sense that the new ship would bring you here,” Merry explained, “See, people can only come to our graveyard when one member of the crew thinks of coming here. According to the spirit that watches over us, Luffy was thinking of seeing me again, so you were sent here.”

 

“Actually,” Sanji replied, “I was thinking of coming here too.”

 

“So was I,” Usopp replied as Chopper nodded his head.

 

“Me too,” Nami said while Robin smiled and said, “I'm guilty as charged.”

 

Franky couldn't help but blush and said, “Well, I just wanted to know more about you.”

 

Zoro glanced around at his crew, slapped his forehead and thought, `Why am I always the only one who doesn't miss former crewmembers?'

 

Luffy sighed and asked, “Say, Merry, I've been wondering how you feel here. How is it for you in the afterlife?”

 

Merry sighed and said, “It's not that great. It's boring here and everyone is depressed. You're the only pirate crew that actually misses its old ship! Everyone else here feels useless because their crews haven't arrived here yet. Tell them, boys.”

 

With that, all the ships came together and let out deep sighs as one ship with a combination of musical instruments as a symbol started playing her… ahem… face… and a melancholy tune started up.

 

One ship sighed and said, “I can't stand being so ignored! I must admit one more exciting cruise; it would be just a cruise too long.”

 

Then, all the ships gathered together and said, “Useless…”

 

Another ship frowned and said, “I just can't seem to get going! I don't have the will to go on in life; everything else is gone.”

 

“Useless…”

 

“There's just no escaping it!” one said.

 

“Useless…”

 

“I'm going to sleep now,” another stated.

 

“Useless… useless… useless…”

 

One ship grinned proudly and announced, “I'm a pricey vessel from East Blue! I got my kicks down on the Baratie and Cocoa Village and old Roguetown. Port Town to old Fuschia Village! I visited Dragon Island and even traveled up the Red Line!”

 

“Useless…”

 

“I once sailed the Davy Back Fight!” one explained, “I must confess, I was quite amazing and I won the great donut race! Sadly, the crew still lost the big game, and I was taken and burned to the bottom! So much for living a life!”

 

One of them sighed and stated, “I once took a woman to an island! I once took a woman to an island! She kept pillaging and she kept stealing, and we both went down together!”

 

Another one sighed and said, “I once took a crew to a banquet! I beg your pardon, I was always jealous that I couldn't enjoy the great party!”

 

“Useless…”

 

Another ship moped and said, “I once went to Long-Ring Island! There were long animals and a strange old man! Believe me, I couldn't forget! Morgan, let's go to the West Blue! Morgan, let's go to the West Blue! From North Blue to South Blue the rumor was I was the strongest living vessel to date! Let us sail down the grand line!”

 

The last one was the most depressed of all. He just stayed still with a sad look in his eyes and said, “I helped a man achieve his dreams. Who would believe they would love me and leave on another to Warship Island? Once in a paradise island, I took my new crew along with a Caravel who was happy to drift there and say `You're useless'.”

 

The crew couldn't help but feel sad. They couldn't believe how many took their ships for granted, and the back stories behind their sadness made the crew feel uneasy.

 

But, they could not do a thing. All they knew was that Merry was the only happy ship there, and that's all that mattered to them, so they had no choice but to leave.